Brief moratorium makes sense for Beacon

Rather than risk the city hitting its limit on water, Mayor Randy Casale proposed a six-month moratorium which would halt approval of new residential projects submitted to the city council, planning or zoning boards. The city council plans to review the moratorium and look for new sources of water at a meeting Monday. Video by Geoffrey Wilson.
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Cars drive on Main Street in the City of Beacon on Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. City officials are considering installing parking meters to help free up space from people who park their cars along the street for long stretches of time.(Photo: Amanda Fries/ Poughkeepsie Journal)Buy Photo

The City of Beacon has been building on its reputation as a strong arts and small-business community -- one with an active Main Street and a buzzing tourism industry. But with those successes come challenges, which is why Beacon Mayor Randy Casale has proposed a six-month moratorium on certain residential development until the city can identify an additional water source to handle more growth.

Giving city officials some breathing room to make the right choice makes abundant sense, and they are in the process of figuring out the details before holding a public hearing, likely in September.

Casale notes the city has a population of more than 14,200, but ongoing residential development projects could push that number to more than 16,500. The city’s water system, the sources of which include several reservoirs and wells, can support about 17,800 people. That’s not a lot of wiggle room.

That said, the city has to set a realistic deadline for ending any potential moratorium and stick with it. All too often when municipalities approve moratoriums, they wind up extending them, placing an unfair burden on property owners and potentially hurting the local economy

Referring to the conflict between those for and against the development stoppage, Casale told the Poughkeepsie Journal, "I get both sides of the argument, but my concern is that I don't want to be in the position where we have a water problem and we're not able to control it. No property is worth anything without water."

It’s hard to argue with that.

The city has hired a company to reassess the city’s water system and examine new sources, including one in Fishkill.

Beacon’s revival has been one of the area’s positive stories and was under way before the great recession hit. The 2003 opening of Dia:Beacon, a renowned modern art museum housed in an old box factory overlooking the Hudson River, spurred tourism, and more galleries, restaurants and other small businesses have subsequently opened in the area.

Seeing what were once empty storefronts along its long Main Street filled has surely been a blessing. And the city has also striven to create e a more seamless transition between the waterfront area (including the Metro-North Railroad Station) and these Main Street businesses. At one point, city officials squelched plans by Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials to create a mix of homes and businesses near the train station, but a smaller development likely will come to that area eventually. And New York’s chief economic development agency is seeking new owners, or even tenants, for a former minimum security prison for women in Beacon, another initiative that likely would have impacts on growth in the area.

Having a coherent long-term strategy in place to handle growth is in everyone’s best interest. This is, in fact, a good problem to have, as long as government officials, community leaders and residents stay on top of what’s going on and have a fair and open process toward solving it.

What’s next

The Beacon City Council will hold another workshop on the moratorium on Aug. 14. The council’s next board meeting is on Aug. 21 These meetings are open to the public and begin at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Court Room, 1 Municipal Plaza, Beacon. While there is no opportunity for public comments at the workshop, the public can speak at the beginning and end of the meetings during the public comments session of the regular board meetings.